Smell training with dogs.
Smell training with dogs
Practice shows that dogs can be successfully used to recognize various odors in concentrations significantly lower than a person can distinguish. The options for using dogs and, accordingly, the skills developed for this purpose are very diverse. They are always based on one action — comparing incoming odors with a known standard. The standard can be given to the dog immediately before performing the skill (for example, searching for a specified odor in the area), can be obtained by it as a result of performing the previous action (search from a trail) or known in advance (search for any person). The dog can be trained to search for the smell of both a person and any odorous substances, for example, nickel ore.
The easiest search is the search for the source, i.e. a specific point. A little more difficult is the search for a line, for example, a human scent trail. To mark the area where there is a specific scent, as a rule, the active participation of the dog handler is required. The search can be carried out while in one place (control point), moving along a route or carefully walking around the area. The dog can examine the scent on the ground or a designated carrier, as well as the scent spreading in the air (working with the upper sense of smell).
There is a significant difference in the level of preparation required between a search with no time limit and a “speed” search, for example, between marking a trail to document a violation, then searching for abandoned/hidden items, and working a trail in pursuit mode.
Specializations
Depending on the conditions of use, up to 100 search options are distinguished, the study of each of them can be called a separate skill. Of course, it is impossible and not necessary to teach each dog all the diversity. Therefore, a selection of a part of the skills is made, which is called specialization. The main criteria for the formation of specialization are functionality and ease of distinguishing skills within the specialization by the dog.
The criterion of functionality means that there is a certain amount of work that is advisable to assign to one dog, and not to further divide it into specializations. For example, in the US federal police agencies, there is quite a small need for scent processing, but the situations encountered are very complex and varied. Therefore, for example, in BATF it turned out to be profitable to assign the entire volume of work to one general-purpose dog. The dog is provided with the necessary conditions by other units — maximum safety and comfort. Training such a dog cost $ 10,000, maintenance is also not cheap. Three trainers, a handler, a personal veterinarian (no less than $ 10,000 in salaries), constant training and ensured safety on calls. «On the ground» — in regional police departments, in the troops, where the work is simpler and limited to a small number of task options, but the number of calls requires many dogs, there is a need for division into specializations. These same dogs often perform some related tasks. Taking into account the noticeable «turnover» (write-off due to old age or illness, losses), it is desirable that each such dog cost as little as possible.
The criterion of distinguishability of skills by a dog means that all search options have triggering signals (commands, situations) and can be easily distinguished by a dog, their number is no more than 20. It is desirable that individual characteristics of skills either differ significantly or completely coincide. Thus, the specified dog from the US police processes everything related to explosives and odor traces of the use of firearms. It does not process other odors. Its attention is not drawn to the type of odor — it is always from one class, conventionally designated by the word «explosives» (nitro group). Often, a separate dog does all types of search for the smell of a human corpse.
In the «Search Service» the skills are more diverse — Only the human scent is processed, but from a point, from a route and from a walk around the area, the scent can be applied directly to the surface of the earth or to a special carrier. Several related skills are included:
— working on a trail: from a specified point (start of a trail) search for a line laid out on random terrain (trail) with the specified human scent;
— finding things along a trail: on a route (trail) search for a thing (selected carrier of the scent) with the specified — same scent;
— selecting a thing, person: when stopping, search for the source of the specified scent on a thing or person (selected carrier);
— search of the area: when patrolling the area, search for the source of a known smell (any human) on an item (a designated carrier);
— detention, guarding the detainee, training to fire: related skills.
You can combine completely different skills in one specialization, for example, in the specialization «Patrol and Investigative Service»:
— odor sampling: when stopped, search for the source of the specified smell (person, corpse, substance) on a standard carrier;
— when patrolling an area, search for the source of the specified odor (person, corpse, substance) on the surface of the floor, walls, things, ground;
— under the same conditions, search for the source of any human odor on the ground;
— from the specified or found point, search for a line (trace path) with the specified or known in advance human odor;
— when moving along a route, search for any human odor in the air (detection of a person by smell, in combination with detection by hearing and vision;
— skills common to all specializations of the «security service»: related skills.
The practice of the armed forces and DOSAAF service dog clubs has developed such specializations as «search service», «guard service», «mine search service», «patrol service», «search and rescue service». Elements of working with smells are included in the specializations «shepherd service», «communications and light cargo service» and some others. Over the years of thoughtless rewriting of instructions and standards, the requirements for dogs were greatly underestimated, and the level of training fell in accordance with the change in the quality of the supplied livestock. Therefore, today it makes sense to focus, for example, on domestic or German requirements of the 40-50s or on the US Army manual FM 7-40 Scout dog training and employment.
Requirements
In its work, the dog deals with variable characteristics of the environment, the control of which is difficult. Therefore, it is impossible to exclude some probability of errors due to a decrease in the concentration of the sought-after substances below the limit or the appearance of additional strong odors that interfere with the recognition of the sought-after. Therefore, in order to introduce stereotypes into the search conditions in order to determine the causes of errors, standard (for the course, the educational and training process) odor sources are used in training. Usually, clean soft pieces of material measuring 5×5 cm are used to adsorb the odor. The intensity of the odor is assessed by the time of contact of this material with the substance or person (the time of odor removal). To mask or further weaken the odor, the source is placed in additional shells and environments — in a matchbox, plastic bags, bags with earth, sand.
The requirements for dogs and the corresponding test exercises consist of detecting these standard sources under strictly defined conditions, for example, detecting a source buried 20 cm deep in warm (+5 — +15°C), windless weather without rain on an existing training ground (a certain type of soil), the same in the rain — at a depth of 5 cm. Transferring the requirements to the conditions of practical use of a dog is based on an assessment of the complexity of the smell and can never be accurate. Thus, it would be natural for a non-specialist to require a dog that confidently detects a source with an odor removed within 15 minutes, closed in a PE bag and disguised in a bag with personal belongings, to find all sources of the substance (i.e. the odor is not removed) in the same bags. But it is always possible to select additional odors in such a way that the dog (and the gas detector) will not be able to recognize even a strong odor. The handler's ability to recognize the dog's behavior and direct the search is of great importance. Therefore, quantitative indicators of the dog's practical work can be used cautiously, with an analysis of the odor environment of each case.
The difficulty of the tests is set individually, based on the conditions of use. Dogs can be trained to meet a variety of requirements. Thus, in the armed forces, the majority of mine-detection dogs are trained to search for various mines (including those with a small amount of explosives, hermetically sealed) at a depth of up to 35 cm in the ground, well-trained ones — up to 50 cm. But if necessary, some dogs are trained to detect at a depth of up to two meters. This is achieved by longer training in recognizing weak odors.
Individual requirements proposed in the «Patrol and Investigative Service» specialization at the 1993 Russian Championship in Security Service were as follows:
— Smell sampling — the smell was removed from personal items for 15 minutes, then «cooled» for 30 minutes. The dog had to choose the specified smell from six;
— working in pursuit mode of a 2,000 m long track trail with smooth bends, 1 loop and 1 acute angle at the point of fan divergence of extraneous tracks with a track age of 1 hour, for working — no more than 15 minutes. For comparison, in international standards of testing IPO of the third — highest — stage, for working a track of 800 steps (usually 600 meters) of the same age, 20 minutes are allocated.
An idea of the minimum permissible intensity of work is given by the application standards accepted in modern military practice. Detection of a person while moving along a route is usually required from a distance of at least 50 meters. The dog can continuously perform this work for up to 6 hours. The search for the initial point of a person's trail is carried out in 30×30 m sections, the same sections are used for a thorough search for a person under ruins, rubble, etc. For a quick search for a person and things under a thin layer or on the surface, sections up to 100×100 m are allocated. Demining on the ground is carried out in strips of 8×100 m, and to search for such weak sources as spent cartridges, sections of 10×10 m are cut. With a small search area, sections are cut in accordance with local conditions, taking into account the complexity of the work. The dog can sequentially examine several standard sections, it is advisable to take a break for 10-15 minutes after each.
Features of application
The use of dogs whose basic training and use are not related to smells is discussed in articles NsN° 2-6, 8, 9’99. In situations where it is necessary to stay in one place for a long time and only signal the presence of a certain smell, it is better to use technical means. For example, the M-02M gas analyzer ($20,000) is good for monitoring explosives. Its range of operating temperatures (from +5 to +45°C) completely covers the capabilities of a stationary dog. And for searching outdoors in winter, you still shouldn’t fix the dog — let it move and warm up. Dogs of different breeds have different ranges of operating temperatures, almost all can work at -5-10°C, many — up to 20. Few dogs are suitable for work in severe frost or strong winds, it is better to use various northern sled Laikas that have no hunting experience.
A dog — a specialist in smells, as a rule, cannot be occupied with only one object and only one type of work. It is used to solve those problems that cannot be solved by other means, for example, to mark a cold (over 3 hours) trail, to inspect suspicious transport with many distracting smells, etc. It is often necessary to work immediately after transportation. It should be remembered that 10-20 minutes of walking can greatly affect the success of the entire work and save up to several hours. Despite the obligatory accustoming to strong external influences (noise, passers-by, animals), dogs work better without them, and they should be excluded if possible.
The scent standard can be forgotten by the dog over time, so it is always useful to take a scent sample before sending the dog on a search and at all critical points, so that if necessary, you can present it to the dog for repeated sniffing. The correctness of the search can also be checked by comparing the original scent sample with the sample taken from the found source. This check takes several minutes, but significantly reduces the likelihood of accepting an erroneous result. To take a sample, you can use pieces of material without a foreign smell, and if there is none, they try to place the air in a PE bag, for example, a culinary syringe or a special vacuum cleaner (made for cleaning computers). When using a general-purpose dog to search for drugs or explosives, it is useful to have a set of training bags with you — imitators of the main smells.
If a dog that is not prone to simulation suddenly refuses to work, it should be immediately taken aside and given a few minutes of rest. During this time, try to find out the reason for the refusal in other ways. Sometimes refusals occur due to a strong odor that strongly irritates the nasal mucosa. Attackers can use tobacco (an old advertised remedy), ground pepper, liquid bleach (the smell of «Belizna» makes a person feel ill for up to a day, let alone a dog) and other improvised means. A more reliable result is obtained by using the smell of a dead bitch or heroin, but it is more difficult for an attacker to find them in time. Many strong odors can be detected by a person. If the dog «loses» the scent (for example, a surface area is sprayed with water — the concentration is sharply reduced), as a rule, it actively continues to search for it, and the handler is only required to direct it taking into account local features.
Training and training
Preparation for working with scents begins long before the tests at the basic level. Starting from three months, the puppy can learn to work out tracks, conduct a search on the ground. Its progress is limited by the obedience skills necessary for the arrangement of scent skills, and the properties of the nervous system, limiting the overall training load.
With both puppies and adult dogs, the best results in practicing all scent skills are achieved by contrast training, when the dog finds and receives treats with correct actions, and earns blows and jerks with incorrect ones. Therefore, the skill of attitude towards offered and found food (from the basic stage) should be practiced after many scent skills have been consolidated.
First, the study is carried out on a trail from a known point, a zigzag movement across the area for searching, and the selection of the source of the specified smell from several standard ones. The skill of selecting a smell should not be associated with any sources found in everyday life, such as things, people, etc. For example, many dogs are trained to select a smell applied to wooden sticks or gloves. It is difficult to use such a dog to search for the desired smell among personal items; such a dog will most likely select an item that is most similar to a glove. In practice, it is easier to train a dog to search for a smell on a standard carrier, remove the smell from different types of things and apply it to this carrier, than to train a dog to search on a variety of carriers.
The complication lies in the combination of the studied elements and the formation of complex skills, for example, the search movement is combined with the choice of a source — a search on the terrain is formed, a search on the terrain is combined with the development of a trail — a start on the trail is formed without specifying the starting point, etc.
Finally, training is carried out on weak smells — the trace duration increases from the usual 30-40 minutes to several hours (depending on the smell environment and the dog's abilities), the smell sources are sealed in PE bags, repeated smell removal is used (i.e. the smell is removed not from the substance, but from the piece of fabric on which it was removed earlier).
Training is conducted at least once a week and includes exercises to consolidate all skills, especially rarely used ones. In addition, before starting atypical work, several days should be allocated for rehearsals, if possible. It is advisable to leave the dog 12-24 hours to rest. If it is necessary to increase sensitivity to weak odors, you can transfer the dog to a vegetable diet for several days. The practice of using small doses of phenamine for this in private security is unacceptable, since it is illegal and leads to an avalanche-like exhaustion of the nervous system and neuroses.
During the search, if the dog does not find the desired odor for a long time (more than an hour), its interest in the work may decrease. Therefore, from time to time, sources similar in type and intensity of odor to the supposed ones are specially placed for it.
In the absence of training, skills are lost very quickly. Even such a simple skill as silently indicating the presence of a stranger cannot be maintained for a long time in a city dog without special support, since its experience (constantly encountering people whose appearance does not need to be indicated) contradicts the requirements of the service.